


Humanity's Brightest

by TransBoyFanBoy



Series: Little Eren and Daddy Levi [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Age Play, But it's okay, CGLRE, Comfort, Cuddles, Daddy!Levi, Eren Has a Secret, Eren needs a hug, Fluff, I'm a slut for fluff, Levi will give Eren a hug, M/M, Negative Thoughts, Non-Sexual Age Play, Slight Angst?, and Ereri, and jeanmarco, because I'm lazy, because Levi is cool, bottles, but then he doesn't, cgl, ddlb, dxlb, ereri, gonna make it a oneshot, little!Eren, marco isn't dead, maybe more than slight angst, probably, pull ups, sippy cups, whoops, yay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-11
Updated: 2017-04-11
Packaged: 2018-10-17 13:54:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10595379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TransBoyFanBoy/pseuds/TransBoyFanBoy
Summary: Being humanity's brightest hope is too much, sometimes. It's all just so stressful.It starts with what could be described only as a certain clinginess to Levi- cuddling up to him, being a bit needier than normal. He knows why it is happening, but he wouldn't dare tell anyone. It's his secret, that's how it has been since his mom died.He forgot, however, that every secret has to come out eventually.





	

**Author's Note:**

> There are far too few Non-Sexual Age Play works for Ereri. To fix that, I figured I would just write my own. I hope you guys enjoy!

Being humanity's brightest hope isn't all it's cracked up to be. There is so much stress, so much pressure on him to save everyone. It all just piles on. Even Eren's thoughts are stressful and filled with constant worry. There are times that he seriously considers giving up because was it not pointless to being with? He can't do that, though. He has to be the hero. 

It’s so tiring. His mom is gone now, along with the comfort she provided. Eren's been forced to grow up so quickly. Between the titans and his father's frequent absences, he never got a real childhood. Even so, he can't just throw away his responsibilities. He has a world to save, a mother to avenge. He feels so guilty for even thinking about going back to being a kid, not having to deal with the problems around him. So, he suppresses the thoughts. 

 

It never really is that simple. He catches himself eyeing toys and supplies meant for toddlers or babies so often that he's becomes slightly oblivious to it, at least when he's alone. He would never dare to look in the direction of such childish things around the others. Eren knows that the pricks would just lunge at the opportunity to make fun of him, especially over something like this. It's not his fault, though; not if you really think about it. Most times, he can't help it. He'll just find himself stuck in the childish mindset, or even worse, in between mindsets. In those moments, he tends to drift over to the many toys he yearns to have. He's even given in on a number of occasions and walked out of the store with his hood up, a bag of various baby items ranging from bottles and pacifiers to coloring books and stuffed animals in his hand.

Recently, despite his attempts at stamping down his urges, he has found himself deep in his headspace multiple times a week. It frightens him because it seems so much harder to hide now than it was before. No matter where he is or who he is with, Eren will feel the immature part of his mind come out to play and he'll suddenly run off, spouting random excuses as to why he has to leave at that very moment. 

The stress that's getting to him is no doubt a factor in the frequent occurrences. Levi and Erwin have been putting more pressure on the cadets recently and have increased the amount of daily training time they have. With the titans closing in on yet another wall, the urgency is increasing and it's all up to Eren to protect everyone. That's how it seems, at least.

He pushes all of these negative thoughts aside as he walks into the mess hall. Mikasa, Armin, Jean, and Marco are all waiting for him, saving him a spot in line.

"Hey Eren, did you hear about the training regiment for tomorrow? It's supposedly going to be brutal. Though, really, when is it not?" Armin speaks from across the table, causing the group members to nod in agreement.

"Yeah.. I heard about it. They really can't wait to get us out there, can they?" Eren picks at his food. This conversation is doing nothing to help his appetite. 

"Can you blame them? Things around here are getting worse by the week." Mikasa pipes up from next to Eren.

Eren sighs quietly, standing and taking his plate back to his room. No one says anything as he leaves.

'How am I going to save humanity? I'm just a teenager, just one person! It's so much.. I can't do it, I can't do it..'

The more he thinks, the harder it is for Eren to stay big. He's about to just let himself do it and dig the bag out from under his bed so that he can find somewhere more private. Right as he reaches for it, Levi walks in.

"Kirstein told me that you left the mess hall with your food. Do you know how dirty it would get if you spilled anything from your plate?" Levi walks over to Eren quickly. He notices that Eren is frozen, reaching for something under his bed. Levi brushes it off though as Eren sits back up.

"Sorry, Corporal Levi. I just couldn't be in there right now." Teetering between his headspaces, Eren finds it hard to keep the stutter out of his voice and remain confident.

"You okay, Eren? You look and sound a bit off."

"I'm sure I'll be fine. Don't worry about it."

"Well, Yeager, that doesn't calm my nerves." Levi takes a seat across from Eren, sitting at the end of his bed.

"Uh.. Levi? Why're you sitting here? Surely you wouldn't want me to get you sick if I am ill, right?"

"I don't care right now. Besides, you don't look sick; you look upset."

Eren takes a deep breath.

"I just don't see why we have to keep talking about training all the time."

"That used to be the only thing on your mind, brat."

"Yeah, well now it's not." Levi looks at him curiously for a little while before sighing, scooting over next to Eren and pulling him into his side.

Eren nuzzles into the touch, still partially in the childish mindset. He craves the touch, the closeness, even if it is with Levi. In fact, these moments have been happening more often lately. He will become upset and Levi will somehow always show up at those times, giving him comfort. Eren has become somewhat dependent on Levi. He knows that he has some sort of romantic feelings for him, but it's something else that he feels in times like these. It's the nonsexual intimacy that they have that he craves. His "little side," as he calls it, is reaching out for this affection and care. It's even better that Levi doesn't seem to mind.

Of course, he doesn't know about Eren being little. Eren can't and won't put himself in that vulnerable position. Who would take him seriously if they knew he wanted to be taken care of like a child? How could he possibly save everyone after that?

Levi's arms tighten around him as Eren notices a few stray tears fall down his cheeks. He quickly wipes them, but Levi has already noticed. Eren can tell he has slipped completely. In fear of being caught, he opts to stay silent to avoid any lisp or childish tone that may come out when he tries to speak.

After a while, when Eren starts to doze off and his thumb starts to slowly inch towards his mouth, Levi shifts and stands. Eren snaps his thumb away from his face before it can touch his lips and looks up to Levi who was watching the action closely. He furrows his brows slightly before sighing. 

"Eren, try to get some sleep, okay? And don't worry about your plate, I'll take care of it." Eren simply nods and flips over as Levi walks out, covering himself with the blanket and finally allowing his thumb to slip between his lips.

\----------------------

The next few weeks, things continue on as they had been. There were even more grueling trainings that kept starting earlier and earlier in the mornings, as well as chores and talk of a possible wall breach in the near future. Eren felt everything adding up and it showed. He was always tired and stressed. He grew closer to Levi, if that was even possible, and felt himself becoming little more often than ever before. Almost every time Levi was around, Eren started to slip. He couldn't help it, really. Believe it or not, there was just something so comforting about having the raven-haired man around. His aura leaked confidence and promised to protect him. 

Levi seems to sense when things change, too. He can't put his finger on what exactly it is, but he notices when Eren nuzzles closer ever-so-slightly or when his tense muscles relax. If he's being honest with himself, it's kind of cute, too. It's definitely nice to see him so relaxed, but Levi doesn't know what it is that is making him that way. He does hear a difference in Eren's voice at times, too. When Eren decides to risk speaking in his headspace, Levi can recognize a childish lisp and a slightly higher pitch to his voice. 

Levi is hardly a prude. He's got plenty of knowledge when it comes to kinks and quirks. And everyone knows that he does his research when he doesn't know something. So, in his life, he's come across many different things. He has his suspicions as to what's making Eren act so different, but decides to wait a while longer. Maybe Eren will tell him what's going on soon.

\-------------------

Once again, Eren finds himself on his bed, reaching for the bag of childish items. Everyone is out for the day. It's one of the rare holidays the cadets get and they decided to make the most of it. Eren has the room all to himself until everyone comes back. 

He rests his hands on top of the bag, pulling it out from under the bed and setting it in his lap. He unzips the duffle bag and pulls out a stuffed dog. He named the puppy Silk because of his smooth, fake fur. Next, he brings out a sippy cup and a pacifier. He'll have to sneak out of the room later and fill the cup with juice. Lastly, his hand touches the item he was most afraid to get in the store- a teenage-sized pull up. It's decorated with camouflage print and is an item that Eren has never been brave enough to put on before now.

He decides that since he has the whole day to himself, he can wear it. Eren stands and covers the rest of the items with his blanket as he sprints into the bathroom. Nerves set in as he removes his pajama bottoms and underwear, sliding the pull up on and putting the pajamas back on. He does a quick check in the mirror to make sure it isn't too noticeable. Once he is certain that no one will see it unless they specifically look for it, he skips excitedly back to his bed and sits down, popping a light blue pacifier in his mouth and dumping the rest of the duffle bag's contents on the blanket in from of him. 

A coloring book catches Eren's eye first, so he grabs a pack of crayons and opens it up, pushing the rest of the toys and supplies to the side as he gets to work on coloring a dinosaur. He wonders briefly if dinosaurs actually still exist somewhere outside the walls, but realizes how silly that is.

It's around an hour later when the door is opened suddenly, Levi striding across the room to Eren. Said little boy jumps, eyes wide and scared as Levi comes towards him.

"Eren, I heard that everyone left but you stayed her- Eren..?"

Eren's lip begins to wobble as Levi eyes him up and down, taking in his childish appearance and the baby things laying scattered around on his bed. Levi notices the look in Eren's eyes and quickly leans down, scooping him up into a hug.

"Eren.. little one..?"

Eren's nod confirms what Levi had suspected for weeks and he quietly shushes the now sobbing boy in his arms.

"Shhh, it's okay.. tell me what's wrong, Eren."

"Y-you saw m-me! A-and I doin' somethin' weird! Am not normal and now y-you h-hate me! C-can't help it!"

Levi frowns and rubs Eren's back, rocking back and forth. 

"Little one.. I do not hate you. Let's get that clear right now. Also, you aren't doing anything weird, okay? It's not usual, no. But it is not a bad thing. Just like you said, Eren, you can't help it. Now, how about we calm down a little and then you can talk to me about this for a while, huh?" Levi receives a nod in response from the sniffling boy.

Roughly ten minutes later, Levi stands up and runs out of the room with Eren's sippy cup before coming back. He hands it to Eren, who drinks a little bit of the apple juice out of it, closing his eyes as he calms completely. Levi settles back in bed with him, sitting behind the still very little boy and pulling him into his chest, playing with his hair.

"Now ,Eren, I want to ask you a few things and I want you to answer as best you can, okay?" Eren nods.

"Good boy. I guess first thing's first: how long have you been doing this?" Eren holds up five fingers to show that's he's been little for five years.

"Five years?" A nod. "Okay.. is there any reason you do it?" 

"I-I get stressed and think bad things.. and I feel like it's up ta me ta save all the people... and my mom died.. never got a good childhood.." Levi looks down at the boy sadly.

"And why did you feel that you couldn't tell me? Or anyone, for that matter?"

"Make fun 'a me... think I can't do things cuz I little.. can't save people right if am little.." Eren murmurs quietly, his voice higher than normal.

'He sounds so small.. poor little thing..' Levi wraps his arms around Eren.

"Well now I know and I don't judge you, okay? It's very cute, in fact. But I am going to move you to a private room, little one." Eren looks up at him.

"Why..?"

"Because, Eren, that way you'll be able to have your own room where you can be little freely instead of hiding it. Oh, and you'll be closer to me, so I can take care of you. That is, if that's what you would want."

Levi smiles slightly as Eren's cheeks flush and he gets a look of shock on his face. 

"You'd wanna take care 'a me..?"

"I would like to try, yes." Eren nods slowly back at him.

"'Kay... we can try.." he turns around and hugs the raven-haired man happily. Just then, he hears a quiet crinkling and blushes brightly. Levi seems to have heard it too.

"Little boy, are you in a pull up?" Eren just nods, embarrassed and slightly nervous that Levi won't want to take care of him anymore.

However, Levi just nods and brushes it off. 

"Are you wet?" 

"Dunno.." The poor little boy's face warms even more as he shifts and realizes that he is, in fact, wet. 

"Yeah.. am wet.. gonna go take care of it, but can you help me pack my stuff to move into another room?"

"Of course I can. But, you know, I will be helping you with those things soon so there's no need to be embarrassed."

Eren just shuffles away with another pull up in hand as Levi starts packing up the little gear and Eren's clothes. He decides that he'll definitely need more clothes if they're going to do this right.

Once Eren comes back, Levi walks him to his new room which just happens to be right next to his own. They get the little boy settled in and write down a few ground rules before cuddling on the bed and ordering some new supplies and little clothing for Eren. 

The two of them finish their online shopping and hope to have the packages shipped to the building by the next morning. They still have a few hours before the others get home, so they leave the room and go to the mess hall, where Levi makes Eren a snack and refills his sippy cup. 

"Thank you, d- uh.. Levi.."

Levi smiles down at the shy little angel.

"Eren, it's okay. You can call me daddy if you'd like." Eren nods, his cheeks red for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. 

"'Kay.. just makin' sure is okay.."

"It's more than okay."

Eren finishes his snack and they go back to Eren's new room, spending the rest of the the day coloring and playing with the small amount of other toys that Eren has.  
\---------------------

Soon, everyone gets back to the camp. Erwin, who, like Levi, is no prude, was told about their situation right when he arrived back. He and Levi formed a story to tell the cadets. Obviously, Eren's friends wanted to know where he went, so they told them that he was moved into a private room to de-stress and to allow humanity's brightest hope some much needed time to himself. 

Once dinner rolls around and Eren is big again, he joins his friends in the mess hall. He is greeted with Jean and Marco staring into one another's eyes and talking about random things. He is also attacked by Mikasa and Armin, who tackle him into a hug. 

"Hey Eren, how was your day?" Armin asks.

"Oh, ya know.. pretty boring, actually. Nothing really happened, I just relaxed." From across the room, he meets Levi's eyes and casts him a smile. Their little secret.


End file.
